Clouds lift, flood rescues begin in Larimer County

260 people remain unaccounted for in Larimer County after Monday evacuations

By Alex Burness Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
09/16/2013 09:15:15 PM MDT

Kalyn Taylor, right, hugs Alexander Diederich and their pug Phoebe after they arrived at Timberline Church in Fort Collins on Monday. Diederich was one of the evacuees rescued from Drake along with his dog.
(
Lilia Munoz
)

An estimated 336 people stranded by flooding were evacuated by helicopter Monday to a shelter in Fort Collins, with hundreds more slated to be rescued Tuesday if weather permits.

Larimer County by the numbers

Fatalities: 2 presumed dead.

Unaccounted for: 260 people.

Evacuated Monday: 336 people.

Helicopters available for rescue: 16.

Damaged or destroyed businesses: 700.

Damaged or destroyed homes: 6,000.

FEMA employees helping with search and rescue: 160.

Volunteer hours given at Timberline shelter in Fort Collins: 5,000.

Evacuees are being brought to Timberline Church, the same site the American Red Cross used as a pop-up shelter during the High Park fire. An estimated 203 people slept at the church Saturday night, with about 50 expected to do the same on Monday. Most people bused to Timberline either have connected or will connect with friends or family.

Timberline Church, now a massive pop-up donation center for clothing and food, will soon transition donated goods to the Loveland evacuation assistance center at the old Agilent/Hewlett-Packard building, 815 14th St. SW.

Among those goods are 35 animal crates, which have been helpful in keeping at bay the 50 dogs that Timberline spokesman Mark Orphan estimated are at the church at any time.

"It seems like there are more [dogs] here than people," said Orphan, who works for Serve 6.8, the Christian philanthropic organization responsible for rallying and organizing the approximately 500 volunteers who've put in more than 5,000 total hours at Timberline since Thursday.

Sheriff's Department spokesman Nick Christensen said he observed "good spirits" in the people he met at Christman Field Airport, the touch-down point for evacuees headed to Timberline.

"There were some folks that appeared to have some minor health issues, but everyone seemed to be doing well," he said.

"It's just an amazing operation in terms of cooperation. There's the [Sheriff's Department] out there, the National Guard, members of the Type II team that we're working with, the urban search and rescue crews ... all working together to go in and evacuate folks."

Currently, two 80-person FEMA teams and 16 helicopters remain available to aid with search and rescue in the county. After cloudy skies kept them grounded all day Sunday and Monday morning, the crews finally took flight at midday. They focused on rescuing those stuck in the Big Thompson Canyon area, which includes Storm Mountain, Glen Haven, Drake and Pinewood Springs, among other towns.

Deputy Type II incident commander Chuck Russell said county officials and FEMA teams will continue to prioritize areas in most dire need of water and medical aid. He also lauded the patience of stranded communities.

"A lot of these communities that are isolated, they are being very resourceful," he said. "There's leadership that's stepping up within each one of these isolated areas."

If skies are clear tomorrow, Russell said he anticipates a nearly complete evacuation process, though the hardest rescues have yet to come.

"Our goal would be to have everybody out by the end of tomorrow," he said. "I don't know if that's realistic, but if we have another good day that's a possibility. Right now we're getting bulk people where we can land the larger helicopters. It's going to get to the point where we have to go to those smaller areas and in some situations we may have to extract people without even landing."

The waves of air evacuations have helped bring Larimer County's "unaccounted for" (not yet having contacted authorities, friends or family) tally from 398 at 10 a.m. Monday to 260 by the evening.

Evacuees get off the first bus that arrived at Timberline Church in Fort Collins on early Monday afternoon.
(
Lilia Munoz
)

Of the people confirmed to be missing in Larimer, Christensen said two are presumed dead, with the death toll "likely" to rise. The statewide toll is now at eight.

"We do anticipate there may be more than the two that we presume are deceased, but we need to go through a process of identifying that," Christensen said. "First and foremost, we'll be getting those that need to get out, and then searches will continue through the rubble in areas that are damaged or destroyed. Search and rescue teams have dogs with them and other expertise in identifying human remains if necessary."

The total casualties from the flood, which Christensen characterized as 1,000-year occurrence in some places, may not be known for several months.

It also will take a while to add up property losses, but authorities estimate that 1,500 homes and 200 businesses have already been destroyed, with another 4,500 homes and 500 businesses damaged. Those figures are all subject to fluctuation.

Also on Monday, FEMA Branch Director Steve Ward also announced that Larimer, Weld and Adams counties have all been added to the official declaration of FEMA eligibility.

"What that means is that FEMA is now eligible to provide grants both to individuals and families to help them on their start of their recovery," Ward said. "We will also be reimbursing the county for debris and emergency protective measures."

Registration for FEMA aid is available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 1-800-621-FEMA, or online at fema.gov. Anyone who has been evacuated is urged to register themselves as "Safe & Well" at http://bit.ly/9ZwlyY.